3 things we heard from the Bears, including Roquan Smith bouncing back and Prince Amukamara agreeing with Matt Nagy’s decision to kneel

Bears players regrouped at Halas Hall on Tuesday as they try to figure out how to avoid a fourth straight loss when they face the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia.

Here are three things we heard in the locker room.

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1. Roquan Smith said he is where he wants to be physically and mentally.

A few days after coach Matt Nagy said Smith needed to play better than he had in losses to the Raiders and Saints, the inside linebacker bounced back with a better performance Sunday.

Smith played a big part in the run defense holding the Chargers to 36 yards on 12 carries. He twice stopped Austin Ekeler for no gain on a third-quarter drive, including on third down at the Bears 2-yard line to force the Chargers to kick a field goal. He had five tackles, and Pro Football Focus graded him the highest among all Bears defensive players.

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“I felt like I was downhill in the game,” Smith said. “I feel like I definitely improved that aspect. That was one of the biggest things.”

Smith showed energy from the first play, when he helped Danny Trevathan stop Ekeler on a gain of 3 yards, then leaped from the pile, nearly running into an official.

“It was just (being) happy to be out there with my guys,” Smith said. “It’s just living the dream, so (I) think about it from that perspective. People would die to be in the position I’m in, so it’s just thinking about it from that mindset.”

Amukamara said Nagy has been high-energy and positive — and doesn’t live with regret, including with that choice.

“I agree with the decision,” Amukamara said. “So many things could have happened, whether it’s a holding call or a fumble or anything. To be honest, that’s a kick we’re expecting Eddy to make, and Eddy knows that.

“So (Nagy is) a guy who doesn’t live with regret. Plus he is so specific and precise on details and those situations. He already had a plan, I believe, going up into that.”

3. Left tackle Charles Leno said the offensive line can build on its performance Sunday.

The Bears ran for a season-high 162 yards, and David Montgomery had 27 carries for 135 yards, the most by a Bears running back since Jordan Howard’s 147 against the Bengals in Week 13 of 2017.

“A game like this will help all of us on offense because we know we can run the ball,” Leno said. “It’s going to help everything out — balance, the run game mixed with the pass game. We just need to capitalize when we get close to the end zone.”

“You can see it from the first play — I-formation, simple, but it’s just a way that offensive linemen and running backs can hit their hole, get off the ball and just be physical,” Leno said. “And that’s what we were doing. Not a lot of RPO stuff, just going straight at defenders because as offensive linemen and running backs, that’s what we like to do. We like to go straight downhill.”